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Ever growing populations in cities are associated with a major increase in road vehicles and air pollution. The overall high levels of urban air pollution have been shown to be of a significant risk to city dwellers. However, the impacts of very high but temporally and spatially restricted pollution, and thus exposure, are still poorly understood. Conventional approaches to air quality monitoring are based on networks of static and sparse measurement stations. However, these are prohibitively expensive to capture tempo-spatial heterogeneity and identify pollution hotspots, which is required for the development of robust real-time strategies for exposure control. Current progress in developing low-cost micro-scale sensing technology is radically changing the conventional approach to allow real-time information in a capillary form. But the question remains whether there is value in the less accurate data they generate. This article illustrates the drivers behind current rises in the use of low-cost sensors for air pollution management in cities, while addressing the major challenges for their effective implementation., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The aim of this prospective, randomized, double-blind study was to determine the effect of nitrous oxide on the desflurane requirement for blunting sympathetic response following surgical incision (MACBAR) when desflurane was combined with two different target-controlled concentrations of remifentanil (1 and 3 ng/mL)., Methods: A total of 103 patients, aged 20-50 years, ASA physical status I, scheduled to undergo general anesthesia for elective abdominal surgery, were randomly allocated to receive anesthesia with desflurane alone (Group A, n = 53), or with the addition of 60% nitrous oxide (Group N, n = 50). Patients of both groups were further assigned to receive a target-controlled plasma concentration of 1 ng/mL (Group A1, n = 27; Group N1, n = 26) or 3 ng/mL remifentanil (Group A3, n = 26, Group N3, n = 24). Sympathetic responses to surgical incision were determined after a 20 min period of constant end-tidal desflurane and target-controlled remifentanil concentrations. Predetermined end-tidal desflurane concentrations and the MACBAR for each group were determined using an up-and-down sequential allocation technique., Results: A total of 98 patients completed the study. The MACBAR of desflurane was 5.2% (95% confidence interval [CI95: 4.9-5.5%]) in Group A1 and 2.7% (CI95: 2.6-2.8%) in Group N1 (P<0.001), while in Groups A3 and N3 the MACBAR of desflurane was 2.2% (CI95:2-2.4%) and 2% (CI95:1.9-2.2%), respectively (P<0.01). When considering a minimum anesthetic concentration (MAC) value with a contribution of 60% nitrous oxide (0.55 MAC) in this population, the combined MACBAR values (expressed as multiples of the MAC) were 1.9 MAC for group A1, 1 MAC for group N1, 0.8 MAC for group A3, and 0.7 MAC for group N3., Conclusion: The addition of 60% nitrous oxide reduces the MACBAR of desflurane by 52% when using a remifentanil concentration of 1 ng/mL, and reduces the MACBAR by 10% when using a remifentanil concentration of 3 ng/mL.

Background and Objectives: The aim of this prospective, observational study was to evaluate changes in regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) and incidence of intraoperative cerebral desaturation in a cohort of elderly patients undergoing major abdominal surgery., Methods: rSO2 was continuously monitored on the left and right sides of the forehead in 60 patients older than 65 yr (35 males and 25 females; ASA II-III; age: 72 +/- 5 yr; without pre-existing cerebral pathology, and baseline Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score >23) undergoing sevoflurane anaesthesia for major abdominal, non-vascular surgery >2 h., Results: Baseline rSO2 was 63 +/- 8%; cerebral desaturation (rSO2 decrease <75% of baseline or <80% in case of baseline rSO2 <50%) occurred in 16 patients (26%). The MMSE decreased from 28 +/- 1 before surgery to 27 +/- 2 on 7th postoperative day (P = 0.05). A decline in cognitive function (decrease in MMSE score > or = 2 points one week after surgery as compared to baseline value) was observed in six patients without intraoperative cerebral desaturation (13.6%) and six patients who had intraoperative cerebral desaturation (40%) (P = 0.057) (odds ratio: 4.22; CI95%: 1.1-16). Median (range) hospital stay was 14 (5-41) days in patients with an area under the curve of rSO2 <50% (AUCrSO2<50%) >10 min%, and 10 (4-30) days in those with an AUCrSO2<50% <10 min% (P = 0.0005)., Conclusions: In a population of healthy elderly patients, undergoing non-vascular abdominal surgery cerebral desaturation can occur in up to one in every four patients, and the occurrence of cerebral desaturation is associated with a higher incidence of early postoperative cognitive decline and longer hospital stay.

Purpose: This study was designed to compare metabolic and functional results after laparoscopic and open colorectal resection., Methods: Seventy-nine patients were randomly assigned to laparoscopic (n = 40) or open (n = 39) colorectal resection. Before and after operation, the following parameters were determined: respiratory function (spirography and blood gas); serum level of cortisol, lactate, and C-reactive protein; total lymphocyte count; and CD4 and CD8 lymphocyte subsets. Intraoperative core temperature was measured by a bladder probe. Postoperative pain and analgesic consumption were also monitored., Results: Mild operative hypothermia, a trend to postoperative reduction of total lymphocyte count, and significant impairment of respiratory function early after surgery were found in both groups. Laparoscopy showed a higher CD4/CD8 ratio (P = 0.01) on postoperative Day 1 and a faster return of C-reactive protein to preoperative values (P = 0.01) than in the open colorectal resection group. Morphine consumption in the first 48 hours after surgery was lower in the laparoscopic than in the open group (P = 0.02)., Conclusions: Laparoscopy was associated with a less pronounced immunosuppression and inflammatory response and a lower consumption of analgesic drugs than open surgery. Moreover, our data did not show any additional detrimental effect of laparoscopy on either operative core temperature or early postoperative respiratory function.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be accompanied by compensatory secondary erythrocytosis. However, the exact prevalence of secondary erythrocytosis in COPD is unknown. Although diagnostic criteria for polycythemia vera versus secondary erythrocytosis are mutually exclusive, we describe here the coexistence of polycythemia vera and COPD in the same patient.

The effect of the concentration of plasma protein on the recovery from anaesthesia induced by equipotent doses (UD95) of thiopentone and Althesin was studied in 48 patients. The recovery time (RT) wa plotted against the concentrations of total plasma proteins (TPP) and albumin (Al). A small decrease in TPP concentration from normal range affected the recovery time minimally; a small decrease in TPP concentration from a low basal value markedly increased the recovery time with both agents. A large decrease in TPP concentration increased the recovery time from thiopentone and Althesin markedly.